Last Christmas, I spent the whole vacation break with Carlo – We went to his favorite fast foods together, we took lots of pictures, we watched lots of movies via my laptop, we wrapped and opened some gifts and ate a lot.

This year is kinda different for me. I spent the christmas with lolo and lola at the condo. We went to church to attend the mass first then went straight home. We ate our noche buena and I called my mom afterwards. Obviously, Carlo is enjoying Christmas in England. My mom told us that he received a lot of gifts and as expected, he re-wrapped all of them LOL.

Last night, I spent the new year at my room. Yes, I slept the whole day. I woke up to eat Sinigang na Hipon for lunch then went back to bed and woke up again at 6pm. I ate Pansit Malabon for dinner the slept again. Lolo and Lola went to Lolo Victor’s house and I decided not to go with them because I wasn’t feeling well.

At 10pm, I called them up at England and my, my brother has a new laptop!

Yes, my brother has a laptop na!

Mama said that Carlo remembered his Ate when he saw the gadget “Ate Mica! Ate Mica!”. I cried, of course.

Honestly, I am going through a lot of stress right now. The fact that I couldn’t hug him on my down times can be a bit frustrating.

Oh well. Maybe its about time that I fix the papers and leave the country.

We have no internet connection at home because there’s no dial tone. Since I really need to check my email and plurk, I decided to go to Gateway by myself.

While I was busy plurking, the electric power of Gateway went on and off for more than five times. A lot of kids panicked but I managed to keep my cool. I was joking around with the other “plurkaholics” when a young family entered the coffee shop – The father, the mother and their five year old son. It was a perfect family moment and because of that, I felt empty.

I suddenly left the urge to blog about my family but I opted to control myself.

When I got back home, I made a slideshow out of the pictures i took at the coke event. I browsed through my music files and found one song that Carlo used to sing. It is Vertical Horizon’s “The Best I Ever Had”.. It is basically a break-up song, but I still used it in the video

I cried after publishing the video. No, I am not sad. It’s just that I am longing for my brother’s hugs and kisses… But its not so bad, it’s just that hee is the best I ever had.

For this year, I am nominating the blogs that I do find interesting and of course, influential. These blogs are somewhat different from one another. Interested to know my picks? Here they are:

Missing Carlo by Micamyx

- Obviously, I am the one who writes and maintains this blog. The blog is basically about my brother named Carlo, who just left the country three months ago. We recorded some video blogs a week before he left for England. I am now posting some entries about my memories with him (good and bad), updates about his life in England as told by our lovable mother and some dose of information about autism. I am really hoping that this blog can help other people understand and appreciate autism. I am actually working on a short film that is somewhat similar with our relationship as siblings. I hope that everybody especially the teachers and family members of special children will learn something from this blog.

Visit Sagada by Benj, Jeff, Fritz, Angel and Garett (Collectively known as the Sagada Boys)

- I first heard of Sagada when I watched Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos’ “Till There Was You”. I once told my grandfather that I want to go there, yet he kept on giving signs of discouragement. When Benj asked me to visit the site, I suddenly fell in love with the place. The itinerary and different lists (spots, hotels etc.) is a big help for travelers. As of writing, I think they unconsciously helped some people for their Sagada trip. Thanks to these guys. Want another reason why the blog is included in my list? They are good singers too. SAGADA BOYS RULES!!!

Work With Ria By Ria Jose

- Ria Jose is one busy davaoena blogger/writer/wedding coordinator/tutor/more slashes needed. I first saw her at the iblog4 but I was only able to talk to her on her videoke party hehe J I checked her blog out and I am amazed on how she manages to maintain 12 or more blogs and do freelance jobs in Davao. I actually want to be like her and reading this blog often can influence me to be a more responsible problogger and freelance worker.

WAWSABAW! By Heneroso

- If last year I’d turn to Billycoy’s blog if I am depressed or if I simply want to have a good laugh, I am happy to tell everyone that I found another blogger who can make you smile. The blogger is formerly known as Heneroso. He shares his daily experiences and misfortunes through his blog. Though I find some of his choice of words a bit offensive, I realized that the blogger behind this web blog is a good son. Try to read his realizations about telling your parents your whereabouts and yes, the popular mother’s day tribute.

MAKAPALM by Ederic Eder

- Are you a palm user? Are you oozing with self-confidence? Puwes, MAKAPALM ka nga! LOL. This blog is created by Ederic Eder of Tinig.com. The site contains some information, pictures, reviews, tips and guidelines perfect for palm treo users and other techie people out there. I somewhat observed that Kuya Ederic updates this blog more often compared to his personal blog. Hmmmm.. Makapalm talaga siya.

To be honest, I am already complete with my list but I’m posting five entries for the meantime. The next batch of blogs are related to controversies, photos, travel and personal stuff. Bye for now J

PS: Do you have a blog? Do participate at the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008 for a chance to win $100!

A night before that special day, I spent my whole afternoon in Figaro at Gateway finishing some pending tasks. Cai and Louis went there after their exhausting work and MRT adventure. The three of us had dinner and I am happy because that moment made me realize that you can really find good and reliable friends in the blogosphere.

We all went home at around 9:30 and my mom called me up. She says she misses me and that Carlo and Ate Virgie misses me too. I heard Carlo at the background singing the song “The Sweet Escape” and I was like, “Awww.. I wish you are here with me right now“. He refused to talk to me that time so I decided to hang up.

An hour before the clock strikes 12 midnight, My cellphone keeps on beeping. My inbox was somewhat filled with some birthday greetings. I am really happy because some people who are close to my heart made an effort to be the first to greet me a happy birthday. I went online and chatted with a few blog friends. I got irritated with one person and it almost ruined my night.

When the clock finally strikes 12 midnight, YM PMs and Twitter messages started pouring in. I am really thankful to them for making me happy that time. I was hoping for more respondents at my so-called “Blog Parteeh” post. I’m still looking for commenter #21 up to this day. Three more comments to go!

When I finally decided to sleep and turn my laptop off, I took a deep breath and look around the room – There’s no one here right now. I’m alone.

I had a feeling that if I won’t sleep, I’ll end up crying. So I slept.

I woke up at around 1:30pm, a bit late for lunch. I checked my cellphone and I received 14 messages. I also received some greetings on my Multiply, Friendster, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Even some of the forumers of PEX greeted me. I am deeply touched.

Before eating my lunch, I gave my grannies in Dagupan a call. They greeted me a happy birthday and asked me about my plans. I told them that I’ll be attending an event for bloggers at night then they hanged up.

I was pretty upset and i don’t know why. I ate my lunch, watch Prinsesa ng Banyera, took a bath, dressed up and went to greenhills to have a pedicure. The manicurista somewhat murdered my nails. Sheesss.. then on my way to the MRT station, I almost slipped.

I went to MRT Ayala to wait for Maki. I ordered some fries and coke to ease my boredom. When she finally arrived, we went to Glorietta to get a cab. Too bad there’s a lot of passengers who wants to ride too so we ended up riding a shuttle bus. Thank God the seats are more comfortable. Cai texted me asking if where we are. After a few minutes, she and Louis rode on the same bus. Destiny? haha. I think the four of us are actually siblings on our past lives LOL.

Maki and I were lucky enough to get some gift certificates from Cuilliere so we ended up eating in a high class restaurant. It is when I realized that I wouldn’t be eating in an expensive restaurant using my own money LOL.

After the oh-so-good-and-so-delicious dinner, we went straight to MAG:NET Cafe for the Loser’s Party sponsored by David and Goliath. I am somewhat surprised that majority of the bloggers that night greeted me a happy birthday (Click here to read my super loser blog post about the event hehe). Some even managed to shake my hand and make beso-beso, which i really appreciated. Too bad I wasn’t able to join in the games.

When the short-but-fun show ended, some of the bloggers went straight home. Maki had to go home early. Louis and Cai still have tons of work to do the next day. When we parted ways, I dunno.. tears were like running down. I actually hate the feeling of being emo infront of a lot of people. I ended up joining the other bloggers like Shari, Robby, Joy, Reyn, LA and Aaron. I am happy because these bloggers did made me smile on that moment. We went to Cupcakes then had a small talk at Brother’s Burger. We took some pictures and in a way, I was able to know them a bit better especially Aaron and Shari.

When I got home, I decided to give my mom a call. She told me that they also have their own celebration in England for my birthday. My mom’s friend bought a pink cake, Ate Virgie cooked my favorite pansit and they also have ice cream. Carlo talked to me this time and he kept on saying “Birthday… Ate.. Happy Birthday! I Love You!”. I quietly cried.

My mom and I had a little talk. She kept on asking me how it feels like turning twenty one. I told her that I think it’s about time that I think of myself – my wants, my needs and all that. She agreed and she expressed how much she misses me. I told her to stop it because i might end up crying out loud. She asked me about random stuff until I realized that we were talking for like 25 minutes already and I was the one who called her up using my mobile phone! My golly!

I honestly told her that I am happy because some of my blogger friends were with me to make me feel special as i turned twenty one, but I’ll be happier if Carlo was by my side.

When I finally said tata and i love you to her, I read about the sad news that happened in Burma where more than 250,000 people were affected with the Cyclone. You know what I felt that moment? I felt like a lucky lady. I am lucky because I am still alive.. A year older, wiser and stronger.

I can do this! I will survive!

Carlo, Why don’t you call me up? Ate Mica just turned twenty one years old five hours ago. Ate just turned a year older. I am now here in Manila and still undecided on what I should really do with this so-called “Special Day”. If only you were here with me, a Jollibee, Greenwich or Mc Do delivery would be fine.

Carlo, are you in school now? Are you eating spagetti again? I do worry a lot on your weight. Mama told me that you are now 160 lbs. You were just 130lbs when you left. Please don’t eat too much. Please have discipline. You need to undergo a serious diet. You have to exercise more. Don’t be a lazy kid. Stop lying down. Work on your health. I don’t want you to suffer later on. I don’t want you to be a fat kid when you grow up. I want you to be healthy. Oh please Carlo. Listen to me.. Listen to me..

After trying out all the themes available in wordpress, I decided to stick to this blue-ish layout with a sky header. I think it suits my brother’s personality and what I am feeling right now. I am feeling blue but I am aiming high for my family and for myself.

I also added a new tagboard and you can find it at the right part of the page. Feel free to ask me anything about autism and I’ll try my best to answer them.

If you want to exchange links, just comment in this post or simply post a message on my tagboard. Thank you!

I’ve always wanted to make my own vlog (blame it on Coy! haha) but i don’t know how. Thank God I was able to download Camtasia and experimented with it after dinner. Here’s the outcome of my first attempt. In the video, I’m teaching Carlo how to make a welcome message for the future visitors of this blog. I’ll be recording more videos for the whole week because Carlo is leaving for England on Sunday night. I’ll truly miss him.I would like to thank Kuya Ederic of Tinig.com for hosting this blog. Maraming salamat po talaga!